KAZAKHSTAN

Nursultan Nazarbayev
President

(pronounced "nor-sool-TAN nah-zahr-BAI-eff")

"The path from totalitarianism to democracy lies through
enlightened authoritarianism."

The Republic of Kazakhstan is located in the heart of the Eurasian
landmass. Covering 2.7 million sq km (1.05 million sq mi), the land area
is 12% of the former Soviet Union. Kazakhstan is the second largest of the
former Soviet republics, after the Russian Federation. It is about four
times the size of Texas.

Kazakhstan is one of the most populous of the Central Asian states, with
an estimated population of 16,741,519 as of July 2002. In 1995, the Kazakh
legislature endorsed moving the nation's administrative capital to
a windswept small town in northern Kazakhstan, renamed Astana, in a bid to
strengthen control over areas heavily populated by ethnic Russians.
According to the 1999 census, ethnic Russians constitute 30% of the
population and Kazakhs (Qazaks)53.4%. There are more than 100 other small
ethnic communities. Kazakhs are divided into tribes called hordes. The
Great Horde occupies southeastern Kazakhstan; the Middle Horde occupies
the center and north of the country; the Little Horde can be found in the
west. Horde identity has been reasserting itself, with the Great Horde
dominating the government. Because of earlier immigration by Russians, the
death of Kazakhs during the collectivization and purges of the Soviets,
and the deportation of nationals to Kazakhstan under Soviet rule, Kazakhs
became an ethnic minority. Recent immigration from Mongolia and elsewhere,
a relatively high birthrate, and the departure of other ethnic groups have
restored the Kazakhs as a majority of the population. Kazakhs are
traditionally Sunni Muslims while the Russians tend to be Orthodox
Christians. Official languages for government business include Kazakh (a
Turkic language) and Russian, though Russian is increasingly discouraged.
Few ethnic Russians have endeavored to learn Kazakh, although many have
lived in the region for several generations. Kazakh-Russian ethnic
tensions have not yet grown into broader conflict, but a more
nationalistic Kazakh government could fuel separatism in the
Russian-dominated north.

Kazakhstan introduced its own currency, the
tenge,
in 1993. Gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated in 2001 at
US
$98.1 billion, and per capita GDP at about
US
$5,900. There is widespread poverty, affecting approximately 25% of the
population as of 2001.

ADDRESS

Office of the President
Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Krasnyy Yar
Astana, Kazakhstan